Plug frame for counter unit



.hme 23, 1970 RE ETAL 3,517,275

PLUG FRAME FOR COUNTER UNIT Filed Jan. 22, 1968 HELMUT KREIDLER -k NA NFRED MPLG R United States Patent many Filed Jan. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 699,639 Claims priority, application Germany, Jan. 21, 1967,

Int. c1. 1162b 1/04 US. Cl. 317-117 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A plug frame has four side walls forming a rectangular cross-section. Each side wall is formed on its outside surface with a guide extending in the direction from one end of said frame to the other. Each of said guides is in registry with and complementary to a guide on the opposite side wall. Each of at least two mutually opposite ones of said side walls is formed on its outside surface with at least two of said guides, which are laterally spaced apart. Each of said two opposite side walls has at right angles to said guides thereon a dimension which is an integral multiple of the center spacing of said guides on said side wall.

This invention relates to a plug frame for pluggable counter units, which frame comprises slidable connecting means.

Holders for electric pulse counters provided with a zeroresetting push-button are known in the form of separate plug frames, which may be called junction boxes and carry the counters proper, which are simply plugged into the boxes without need for separate fixing elements. Plug pins of the counters are received by plug sockets of the junction boxes to make the electrical connections. The junctioon boxes have the same cross-section as the plug gable counter units and constitute modules, which by means of slidable connecting means enable an assembling of counters in closely adjacent horizontal and vertical rows to form counter panels without need for screwed connections. The junction boxes may be provided on the outside with dovetail guides and with complementary guides on the opposite side so that the dovetail strip on one junction box can be snugly fitted into self-locking engagement for the horizontal row and the vertical row.

The present invention enables a combination of counter units differing in size. To meet this object, the plug frame for pluggable counter units, which frame is provided with slidable connecting means, is characterized in that the lateral dimensions of the frame are twice or more times the side dimensions of the unit frame, and plug frames differing in size can be vertically and horizontally assembled to form self-supporting counter panels, the slidable connecting means being provided twice or more times, in accordance with the double or larger size, compared to the unit plug frame, so that plug frames differing in size can be combined only by slidable connections. The slidable connections between the unit size, double size and more than double size plug frames must be locked with pins, which are inserted into registering transverse bores between the guides, and those transverse bores which are free and exposed in the assembled counter panel serve to fix the panel in the panel frame.

According to the invention, the plug frames have different overall depths so that they can receive counter units differing in depth whereas the length of the slidable connections and the position of the transverse bores remain generally the same. With larger overall depths, the slidable dovetail joints extend only over the forward 3,517,275 Patented June 23, 1970 portion of the frame and subsequently merge into bearing strips or grooves, which serve also to stiffen the frame. This design enables a simple plugging of counter units differing in size to form a counter panel, and defect counter units can easily be replaced.

An embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example and with appertaining details in the drawing in which FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing plug frames according to the invention.

As is apparent from the drawing, plug frames differing in size are combined only by slidable connections. There is a unit size plug frame 1, a double size plug frame 2, and a fourfold size plug frame 3. The plug frames 1 to 3 have different overall depths to accommodate counter units differing in depth. Dovetail guides 4, 5 extend on the plug frames only in the forward part of the frame and subsequently merge into bearing strips 6 or grooves 7, which serve also to stiffen the frame. Registering transverse bores 8 are provided beside the sliding guide 4, 5 and can receive pins for locking the frames in position.

It is also apparent from the drawing that the plug frames are open at their rear end, where they partly terminate in lugs 9 having detent apertures 10, which serve for a detachable fixation of plug strips 11 having detent lugs 12 and detent earns 13. The lugs 9 provided with the detent apertures 10 may be laterally staggered at the open end so that counter units having a printed circuit on one side can be directly inserted at the side wall of the plug frame without loss of space to make contact with the corresponding plug strip.

Plug frames differing in size can be assembled by means of the guides 4, 5 and can be locked by pins inserted into the transverse bores 8, and additional fixing parts 14 provided wtih clamping screws 15 may be secured to the dovetail guides 4, 5 and provided with eyes 16 enabling an assembling of counter panels differing in size in frames or housings by means of fixing screws. The features described hereinbefore enable a highly flexible and universal use of the plug frame joint in connection with electric pulse counters because counters differing in size may be combined.

What is claimed is:

1. A plug frame assembly, which comprises a plurality of plug frames,

each of said plug frames comprising four side walls forming a rectangular cross-section,

each of said side walls being formed on its outside surface with a guide extending in the direction from one end of said frame to the other,

each of said guides being in registry with and complementary to a guide on the opposite side wall, said frames being arranged in vertical and horizontal rows,

said guides in horizontally and vertically adjacent side walls of adjacent frames being in registry with and complementary to each other and interengaging to connect said adjacent frames,

each of at least two mutually opposite ones of said side walls of at least one of said frames being formed on its outside surface with at least two of said guides, which are laterally spaced apart,

each of said two opposite side walls having at right angles to said guides thereon a dimension which is an integral multiple of the center spacing of said guides on said side wall,

a panel frame,

fixing means having eyes secured to said panel frame,

and clamping means releasably connecting said fixing means to selected one of said guides.

2. A plug frame assembly as set forth in claim 1, in

which said opposite side walls are formed with registering through bores spaced from said guides,

said through bores in adjacent side walls of adjacent frames are in registry, and

locating pins extend through and between said through borse which are in registry.

3. A plug frame assembly as set forth in claim 2, which comprises:

a panel frame and means connecting said panel frame to plug frames of said plug frame assembly at selected ones of said through bores in exposed side walls thereof.

4. A plug frame assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which said frames have different dimensions from one end to the other.

5. A plug frame assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which:

at least one of said plug frames has an open end and is formed at said open end with lugs having detent apertures, and

a plug strip is provided which has detent projections engaging said detent apertures.

6. A plug frame assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which:

said lugs at said open end are laterally staggered and 25 a counter unit having on one side a printed circuit is contained in said one frame and extends adjacent to one of said side walls thereof and is in electrical contact with said plug strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Netherlands application No. 258,987; date of pub., April 1964; applicant, Firma Albrecht Jung.

Netherlands application No. 6516181; date of pub,

August 1966; applicant, Terry Plastic di Guizzardi Claudio.

LEWIS H. MYERS, Primary Examiner D. A. TONE, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 174-50 

